Principal's Welcome
Carmela D'Amato (Principal)
John 10:14-15
“I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the father. And I lay down my life for the sheep.”
Dear SoGS Families,
I am writing this newsletter after a long but absolutely amazing day of reflection at a principal conference being held by the VICTORIAN ASSOCIATION CATHOLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS INC. The theme of the conference is to Think, Engage and Lead with Strength: Our story gives us strength. Scripture inspires our journey. We are Better Together. This notion of strength is something that has had me reflecting about where we draw strength from in our daily lives. Hearing about people we know and knowing their stories is so integral to us knowing that we belong and that we are better together and we can grow from each other’s experiences. For me, something that definitely allows me to lead with strength is the opportunity for prayer. Prayer gives us ALL that inner strength to THINK about our students, staff and families so that we can then ENGAGE with you all to get the best of each other, and ultimately LEAD our community so that our core values of belonging, compassion and growth are at the forefront of everything we do to help us lead with STRENGTH! At the conference, there have been many opportunities to hear stories about inner strength. So far, we have heard from:
Ashley Fell who spoke to us about the changing face of technology from generation to generation.
Craig Foster spoke to us about his journey and the privileges that came with being a Socceroo in relation to racism in our country. He shared his strong belief that there is a deep need for us to not only see racial and inequality problems but to be moved to doing something about it.
Theresa Ardler is a Gweagal Aboriginal woman of the Eora region in Sydney who spoke about the connection between the Eucalypt tree and our catholic faith. We need both of these to breathe and think and do.
Mitch Tambo is a proud Gamilaraay man who blends traditional Aboriginal sounds and language with contemporary beats and production. He shared his own personal story with us and how faith helped him to achieve and how the belief in him from one principal made all the difference to where he is now, and where he could have been without this subtle intervention.
We ended our first day with Mass, which was just a beautiful way to end a day of reflection. Together we came to sit at the table of the Lord, a story that we all own and we all belong to.
We have so many more speakers to hear from and I am looking forward to sharing these with you.
CONGRATULATIONS
We wish Mel Sanderson, who left us early this year to commence her maternity leave, a very big congratulations on the birth of their little baby boy Nate. I know that both Devon and Kai will be amazing big brothers to little Nate. We can’t wait to meet him. Congratulations to Melanie and Dave.
PARENT ASSOCIATION
On Monday, all children are encouraged to bring $1 per guess for the “Guess the chocolate eggs in the jar” competition. All the SRC reps from each class will be responsible for collecting money and taking down the guesses. Winners will be announced on Wednesday after the Easter Bonnet parade.
EASTER BONNET PARADE
We invite all families to create an EASTER BONNET at home to wear to our Easter Bonnet Parade on Wednesday 27th of April at 9:15am on the Tiger Turf!
If you need some inspiration......
Easy Last minute Easter Bonnets
20+ simple Easter bonnet ideas
We hope to see you all there, ready to cheer our students on!
UPHOLSTERER NEEDED
We have some couches that need upholstering and we were wondering if there was anyone in our family community who is an upholsterer or knows an upholsterer to please let us know. We would love to hear from you! Please email Mr P (fpiccione@sogsgpark.catholic.edu.au) if you can help.
Have a wonderful week ahead.
Carmela D'Amato